Lull
by MidnightBebe104
Summary: Following the events at Thriller Bark. Yaoi Zoro/Luffy Swearing


I do not own One Piece.

**AN: **So I just finished the Thriller Bark arc and it only worked to maddeningly solidify my otp. I'm still shaking. _Fuck! _I assume this arc has inspired many other fics because I mean...really? But I just couldn't help myself. Team ZoLu YO!

This is my first One Piece fanfic (hopefully the first of many). It's shameful to admit that up until just recently I failed to realize such a thing even existed. I know. I outta stick my head out of my ass. Or more accurately, out of Bleach.

* * *

Lull

* * *

At that time, I could only stand and watch.

_**'You don't have to go that far!'**_

_**'Your body will be torn to pieces!'**_

_**'Luffy!' **_

Stand and watch as he fought till wits end. As he knowingly wrecked his body, without the slightest of hesitation. Sacrificing all for his precious nakama. Even then, with all odds against us, his will never faltered.

When I think about it, Luffy, you're the reason I have so much faith in my own strength.

But as of right now, I've never felt weaker.

Shifting my weight onto my forearm, I carefully lift myself up off the mattress. An instant jolt writhes throughout my joints causing my body to hinge forward. Supporting my arms atop my knees I draw in a steady breath. The mere action is accompanied by a fresh surge of pain across my ribs.

A grunt somehow breaks through my clenched teeth and as I try to bite back the discomfort, my eyes scour my surroundings. I'm back in Thousand Sunny. The sick bay is empty, but I can hear faint footsteps approaching from the deck.

I briefly wonder how long I've been out, the last thing I remember being that cooks face before my vision'd gone blank.

But no. That's not all. That moment. Hell, I can't imagine being able to forget it. Even now, my body bears its trace. The raw, crippling pain, unlike any I'd felt before. It consumed me, tearing into every crevice, every pore in my being and hammering me down into nothing. I _was_ nothing. And it reigned over me. And I was powerless. And through it all, it was _his_ face I saw. His face and all the pain he'd bore. All the pain he'd continue to bear. And I realized then just how far the disparity between our strengths lay.

"Oi, you're finally up." My attention is jostled and I notice Sanji now stands beside the entrance. His cigarette hangs limply twixt his lips, a thin trail of smoke wafting lazily through the air. "Thought you'd be out for at least a few more days."

I try to provide a snort as a response but my imposed bravado fails me and I instead find myself coughing pitifully.

He merely huffs out another puff of smoke before propping himself down onto the swivel chair beside Chopper's desk.

"How long have I been out anyway?" I finally manage. My eyes cast down momentarily onto my bruised knuckles before shifting back to him.

I can't help the discomfort and anger I feel at his eyes obvious inspection of my body. Instinctively I crack my spine back into position, refusing to showcase any more frailty than i've already done. It would be shameful, especially after that display.

He'd tried to sacrifice himself in Luffy's stead as well. The prospect of having anyone else do such a thing...I couldn't stand for it. As such I'd removed him from the equation. Because he was mine to protect and only mine.

"Well?"

"Three days." he finally responds.

I can't say I'm too alarmed. In fact, I can't deny I expected it to have been much longer.

"Everyone is out, still rejoicing with the others. We set sail soon though." he continues, his foot now tapping idly atop the floorboards.

"I see."

A lapse of momentary silence creeps about the quarters before Sanji comments,

"You lost a lot of blood." I look up at him and see he's now holding the cigarette between his fingers, gaze fixed on me with an unreadable veil. "I was surprised you could still stand."

I now figure he must want answers, none of which I'm interested in providing. I simply hold his stare. Unmoving we remain there for what feels like a solid minute, the dead air consuming us both in suffocating austerity. After which Sanji draws another puff from his cigarette and stands.

"I'll send some food here with Luffy. You must be hungry."

My mind barely registers his statement before I quickly pipe,

"Luffy, how is he?" I can barely conceal my concern, not that I care to do so. I briefly rack my brain over how I could've forgotten to even bother mentioning him sooner.

The blonde cook's brow arches slightly as though in silent discerning.

"Ah. He's doing surprisingly well." he replies, still eying me strangely. "In fact, even better than that."

I can't help the stupid grin that wipes across my face and the joy that instantly brims my stomach.

"Good to hear."

So he's okay. That simple knowledge is enough to dispel any previous discomfort from my system almost instantly. Because he's okay. And I can tolerate every last bit of pain, as long as he's okay.

"He hasn't left your side this entire time you know." Sanji adds as he begins towards the door. "I figure he'll be back shortly." he pauses once reaching the doorway, hand clasping the doorknob. He turns to face me, face serious and clearly thoughtful. "But before that," he continues. "What you did back then..."

Before he's able to continue further, I quickly intervene.

"Let it go." I silence him, my scowl already inevitably bared, and I can't exactly help it. I don't know if he knows, and I don't very well care. I don't want to remember, nevertheless speak of that moment. Because the guilt and pain are too much even for me.

But the pain, it's different and invisible.

Sanji doesn't say much else to this. He simply sighs and nods, continuing his exit. Despite our often clashes, there's a certain unspoken understanding etched between us two. I find myself mildly thanking him with my gaze.

"Anyway, I'll send some food for y-"

"Sanji!"

The voice that rips through the air, allows the scowl drawn across my features to almost immediately vanish.

"Who're ya talking to? Is he-"

"Ah."

I hear from outside the doorway.

Within a second, Luffy's there, a grin the size of god-knows-what plastered on his face when our eyes meet. The instant warmth it provides is enough to knock the breath out of me -though I hate to admit it.

"Zoro! You're finally up!" he exclaims loudly, already rushing towards me.

I inhale sharply when his arms thoughtlessly embrace me and his face digs into my shoulder blade, his body completely straddling me.

"You sure know how to greet the injured." I groan lightheartedly into his embrace. My own arms snake around his hips. I inhale his scent, feel his form against me and my hold tightens.

I was so terrified to have him taken from me.

"You had me worried." Luffy says into my nape. His warm breath feels soothing against my skin.

"Idiot, like I'd die that easily."

He pulls back with a hearty chuckle, his bright brown eyes smiling just like the rest of him. "There's no way ya would, is there?"

Shit, I can barely even control the sense of relief flooding me. Seeing him here, with that _goddamn_ smile.

His bandaging peeks out from beneath his unbuttoned yellow top and I can't help running my hand over it. Slowly, my fingers trace his chest and stomach, the white gauze managing to conceal most of it. And I can only imagine the scars that must dwell beneath. I may have taken the pain, but the scars, they're still there, mocking me for all I'm worth.

"Even so..." I look back up at him and catch the small chink that has begun to form between his brows and his forehead creases. "You wouldn't wake up."

"Luffy..."

"... and all the blood." the smile is now completely gone. And the look he gives me, it damn well breaks my heart. But his hold on me only grows stronger. "You were close to dying, Chopper said." he looks away from me. His jaw clenches and I can feel the bitterness radiating from his body. There's a slight trembling spreading through his arms as the mounds of his fists dig into my back." All I could think was, if only I'd beaten Moria sooner, then Zoro...Zoro wouldn't have had to-"

I can't take more of this and impulsively my fingers grip his shoulders and I shake him once _hard_, hard enough to hopefully knock some sense into him. Because his ensuing statement ramifies the rage I've been biting back beneath my gut.

The shock of my sudden impulse silences him.

"Don't." I say slowly, through gritted teeth. Because I can't just fucking stand here while he yet again takes it all upon himself. The fucking idiot. After everything, he still feels responsible. "You're beating yourself up over that? You idiot. You stupid fucking idiot."

I snag his hand, my eyes boring into his as I heavily ram it against my wounded chest. His wide eyes assimilate my action and he shrieks,

"Zoro!"

He tries to forcefully retract his arm, but I hold it firmly in place.

And it's as though at this very moment every bruise and ache I'd had the luxury of brandishing for his sake is gone and all that's left is a hollow throb. Because how the hell can I allow myself to feel any pain when he's still blaming himself? When all this pain would still be his to bear had I not intervened. And he'd endure it strongly.

"This is nothing." I assure him.

This _is_ nothing. Nothing like what he's had to endure, all because I'm not yet strong enough.

_Like that time in Enies Lobby. You were paralyzed, Luffy. Your body too battered to even move, yet you refused to stand idly by._

_Do you even realize how I felt watching you like that? How utterly useless? Because I wasn't strong enough, and you were forced to make up for my weakness_.

Gripping his wrists, I topple him over onto the bed, fully reversing our positions. A small, startled grunt strews past his lips as I do so.

My legs are lodged on either side of him while I suture both his arms above his head. And he lays there, apparently powerless, though we both know his strength fully outweighs that of my current debilitated form. Confusion clouds his gaze, replacing the guilt that had previously occupied it. But I much prefer it this way.

Carefully my finger runs down his chest, catching on an up-turned edge of gauze. Grasping it between two fingers I wrench it off and watch the thin material come easily undone.

"What are y-" he begins again, but once more the intensity of my gaze proves successful in silencing him.

His chest and stomach are now fully exposed, slender yet strong, but marred by uneven blotches of discoloration and tears. I try to contain my upset as I continue surveying his skin for damage, but it proves difficult and my gut clenches in on itself.

"Just how far have you been pushing yourself?" I question almost spitefully.

I recall the new techniques he's forced to now rely on. The strain they place on his body evident to even the blindest of eyes. Yet he does so, without a second thought, in order to protect what's important to him.

I grit my teeth forcefully.

This isn't how it should be. I swore to protect him. As of late, I've been failing to do even that. And that's it isn't it? The pain from these wounds is superficial. With time its traces will cease to exist. But the pain harboring at finally knowing the suffering his body has had to face because I haven't been strong enough to protect him...Fuck it's surreal.

"Luffy..." I whisper apologetically as my face slowly approaches his navel.

I lay a soft kiss onto the skin and feel him tense ever so slightly. Deliberately, my lips begin to scour every currently accessible inch of his abdomen, layering it in my lips caresses; every tear, every bruise, every single blemish. These scars shouldn't be here. And I wish nothing more than for the feel of my lips to erase them all.

I look up when I hear Luffy chuckle.

"That feels good..." he says blissfully, and I can't help but smile.

I sigh and shake my head before edging upwards to meet his face. My fingers thread into his perfectly tousled black hair, smooth like silk, and my spare hand removes the straw-hat he's still donning. He only stares.

You're so clueless...

Without further words or warnings, I press my lips against his, feeling him breathe a surprised yet inviting sigh upon me doing so.

We allow our warmths to mesh as one. The familiar softness of his lips instantly raptures me. There's a certain comfort that retains form in our lips embrace, and it envelops me like the very oxygen I breathe. I allow it to numb every other previously inescapable sentiment in favor of this tender sensation.

Beneath it brews this bestial desire amplified by my new awareness. And I want him. I fucking want him so badly. Seeing him here is not enough. I want to show him. Show him I'm here. Will continue to be here, right beside him.

I don't know if he can sense my sudden desperation but his lips part soon after, allowing me complete access to his warm cavity. I don't waste a minutes time before my tongue is hungrily lapping at it's depths, sucking and nipping at his silky tongue, and rejoicing over every single jolt I can feel washing through his body. I allow his taste to numb every one of my senses.

And it's as though I hope this one kiss will brand him forever and say all the things I wish I could voice.

Because he's mine, and he's here. And I'll be fucking damned if I'll let anyone or anything take him away from me, if I'll let anyone hurt him again.

He inhales deeply and I can feel the nubs of his fingers digging strongly into my bandaged back. The fresh pain that weaves across my axis frees a grunt from my entwined lips. But I find myself promptly dismissing it because god these sounds, these delicious sounds he's producing have awakened an entirely new hunger in me. I bite down on his lower lip and hiss when he returns the favor alongside such a lusty moan I have to force myself to believe such a sound is even possible.

It's only when I'm sure my lungs are about to give out on me for lack of steady oxygen that I pry myself free from him.

His breaths are hastened, a thin line of saliva trails from beside his lightly parted lips to the very tip of his chin and he watches me through half-lidded eyes, glazed and sated, staring so deeply into me that I can practically taste every morsel of desire brewing beneath those luscious chocolate orbs.

He's beautiful. My captain.

"Zoro..." Luffy finally speaks. It's uncharacteristically low and there's a certain quiver lacing his words. "You've never...like that...before..."

My thumb grazes the apples of his cheeks, now swelled with a deliciously rosy hue, his eyes waning shut as he basks in my tender ministration. A smile tilts my otherwise sombre lips, and my pointer lazily drifts from his cheek to the inner corner of his ear, before rerouting and continuing down the side of his neck. I revel in the subtle prickling of his skin beneath my touch and feel my desire spike. It's then I pursue to mimic the action with my achingly expectant mouth, greedy for more of him.

Luffy mewls when my lips trail down his jaw, latching onto the supple skin just beneath it and sucking with controlled fervor. My calloused hands carry up and down his waist as my mouth's service intensifies, my restraint proving to be about as fragile as glass. But his taste overwhelms me, clouting my senses with his intoxicating essence. And I want all of it. I nip at the tender flesh, knowing just how delicately fragile of a spot it is for him and am rewarded with a buck of his hips. I strengthen the action, teeth gnawing full tilt, and he whimpers in agonizing indulgence. The mound of my arousal struggles within the confines of my pants, throbbing longingly at those pleasurable sounds from my captain.

Luffy's arms suddenly wrap around my neck, fingers ensnarled in the bright green hairs of my nape. He pulls me in, recapturing my lips wantonly. I complacently oblige, allowing our tongues to once more mingle -this time much more desperately than before. He bites my lip hard enough to allow the mild taste of metal to clout my taste buds and I suck hard enough bruise those decadent lips.

"Zowo," he speaks into our lips passionate encounter, but I don't ease up. I _can't _for the life of me. Hell, he's so fucking delicious I want to devour that velvety tongue, those thin candied lips, till there's nothing but chafed skin. "we-shooden-be-wooen-dis-waight-mow." he still tries, and I understand, but that changes nothing.

I need this now more than ever, I want to tell him. Have our passion cleanse this pain-ridden palette that has become my body. Replace it with _his_ being and nothing else. And I'll revel in every twinge and ache that overcomes this body of mine in the process.

Ignoring his input, my hand strays atop his bulging groin. He gasps when I begin powerfully kneading at his arousal through his red jeans.

"Mng!" Luffy wrenches himself from the kiss with a heavy moan. But I quickly replace his lips with his exposed nipple, sucking it feverishly into my mouth. My warm tongue teasingly swerves and gyrates against the prickled nub before my teeth take the reins and scrape and tug at the perked nipple.

He squirms wildly beneath me, breaths ragged. His hips thrust upwards purposefully, finding my own clothed erection and with unearthly precision repeatedly thrashing against it, the lewd action squandering every last bit of restraint left in my body.

God he's so fucking sexy. And he's all mine.

I lance up, hastily undoing his jeans, tugging the garment down his slim waist and past his feet, finding to my utter unhinging he is not wearing underwear. A wet smile grazes his lips as his own hands work to disarm my pants, dragging them down to my knees alongside my boxers. He bites his lips sensuously at the sight of my engorged erection, the sight flaring my carnal instincts.

I instantly dive between his legs, parting those lean, beautifully tanned, sinewy thighs and propping myself between them. I inhale steadily when the recurring twinges feel inclined to double in their assault over my insides at that moment, but ignore it.

He exhales a shuddering breath when my thumbs caress the inner juncture of his thigh and pelvis, the thin flesh a niche of sensual pleasure as I can already feel his body quivering in ecstasy at the contact.

Before I can move forward, I stop, eyes roving Chopper's desk for a specific necessity.

"Zoro," Luffy whines, bucking his hips a few more time in desperate anticipation.

"Hold on," I rub his thigh soothingly. "there's gotta be something we can use here."

I'm about to stand to sift through the desk's contents for some lubrication or any substitution when Luffy grips my arms. I watch wordlessly as he takes my right hand and brings it at par with his lips. He tucks three fingers inside his scorching cavity, tongue swiping feverishly at the digits, graciously lathering them in his spit, while he sucks and hums -loudly.

My erection throbs viciously at such lustful display.

"Luffy..." I try to reject, though my nether regions differ in idea, but he pleadingly gazes at me, finally prying the fingers from his lips and softly saying,

"Just this once. Please Zoro. I want you so bad."

And that was all it took. My lips swoop in, grappling Luffy's in a brief but soul-sucking kiss, biting especially roughly upon parting.

My index finger, dripping with Luffy's saliva lightly rubs at his puckered entrance, practically twitching with want. It's me it craves so badly and the thought melts my insides.

My free hand curls around his stiff shaft, providing few swift pumps. His breathing hikes, a thundering wave visibly coursing through his body. He practically reels over when the hand is replaced by my warm tongue running up the length of his equally heated erection.

"Ooh..." he groans blissfully, arm falling limply across his eyes as my tongue laps at the juice dripping like sap from his slit before sucking the head of his cock temptingly into my mouth.

As I do so, my first finger slowly eases past his tight ring of muscles, finding little resistance alongside Luffy's current sexual entrancement. I thrust the extremity carefully while continuing to orally pleasure him and feel the cavity almost expectantly pulse around my finger. I refrain my primal temptation, continuing to patiently prepare the writhing beauty at my hands. The second finger is in. I make sure to provide an exceptionally strong suck to his shaft, my eyes still trained on him, watching as he desperately rocks his head back onto the bed repeatedly, a surplus of moans raining down from his quivering lips. The third finger is equally readily sucked in, the guy's rubber qualities showcasing to their highest extent. I don't know why I bother. Mostly to tease him I suppose. I crook my fingers within him, angling them and thrusting in measured strokes for a certain spot. A resounding cry of pleasure casts from his lips at the action, my goal having been met.

His hands tangle in my hair, yanking me away -to my surprise. His sphincter muscles now clamp viciously on my intruding fingers and I begin to worry I've done something wrong. The thought is disproved soon, though, when Luffy heatedly begs,

"Please. Oh god, please just fuck me."

And damn it all if I don't nearly lose it.

He slopes upwards, shifting to a sitting position on the bed and swiftly wraps his lips around the base of my shaft.

"Shit..." I groan as he almost desperately begins to suck me, tongue slap-dashing across every viable inch of my heated warmth, focusing mainly on the especially tender veiny underside of my erection and sensitive head. I tangle my fingers within his hair, hissing and nearly spilling my load when he moans onto my flesh, sending a tendril of vibrations to honor his presence.

God that mouth is sinful.

I regain my bearings long enough to remove Luffy's lips from my length, promptly driving him back onto the bed. He openly sprawls himself, legs spread-eagled invitingly, and exposing that glorious entrance.

"Zoro," he beckons and I quickly oblige, situating myself perfectly along his canal and pressing the head of my now saturated arousal against it. He sucks in broken breaths as my thickness breaks past his initial barrier, plugging the remaining distance as he accommodates my thick girth with incredible ease. "Hnnn..."

My insides melt like gallium at his welcoming warmth and numbing tightness, and I lean in to capture his lips in a chaste kiss. My initial movements are steady, moderated, basking in his sweltering insides, the supple innards caressing my length before -unable to constrain myself any further- withdrawing near fully, pivoting my hips and barreling back into him unrestrainedly, something he welcomes with enthusiasm. A dull throb pelts my spine and sides at the unwarranted action towards my already banged up body, but I only smile, this pain nowhere near paralleling in intensity against the savory feeling of Luffy's embrace or even remotely as relevant.

His back arches, legs hooking onto my back as my thrusting intensifies and I'm fucking him with all I've got, withdrawing near fully before driving powerfully back in, occasionally shifting angles to find my lover's sweet spot and upon doing so focusing relentlessly on it. His moans speak pure sin, body writhing wildly beneath me, head diving back into the bed exposing that luscious neck. My lips fasten onto it and his arms wrap around my own neck as though for dear life as I suck and lap at his throat.

My body throbs, the pain from earlier lashing full-force but accompanied by the building fire generating from mine and Luffy's passion, consuming me. I indulge in the pain and pleasure, no longer deciphering between the two as it no longer even matters.

Because I'm lost in him.

"Shit ...Luffy...I'm so close."

Reclaiming his erection in my palm I stroke feverishly, watching as his hip lifts up into my touch.

"Hnn-ghah! Me...mmm...me too Z-zoro..."

It takes only a few more seconds before his body is spasming in my grasp and his seed is gushing out of him in strong fitful gusts. His tight cavity convulses around my engorged flesh, tightening so powerfully and coupled with such a sinful cry of fulfillment from my lover's lips, my own body explodes soon after. I grunt as my cock releases every bit of my juice into his hot insides, his hole continuing to clench onto my member as though milking it for every last bit of my semen.

Luffy sighs blissfully as I slide out of him. My body flops atop his in the throes of my orgasm.

I roll over beside him as we silently ride out the remainder of our sexual high, our thick breaths twined around our contented bodies.

After a few seconds of comfortable silence, Luffy looks over to me and smiles serenely.

"That was -"

"Luffy," I cut him short. My hand grips the side of his head, our faces aligned, my own face hard. "I'll become stronger." I lowly say.

Confusion storms his gaze. "Zo-"

"Depend on me."

He silences, meeting my unfaltering gaze. The befuddlement drains from his eyes and his demeanor is replaced by an atypic firmness. He doesn't say anything more, only wraps his arms around my waist and settles into my chest.

I embrace him. Exhaustion finally settles over me and the world slowly fades to black with him still in my arms.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_


End file.
